Vancouver Water Adventures

Mike and Laura were literally the best tour guides you could ever ask for.
I booked a Light The Night paddle boarding tour with Mike during the summer. There were 3 of us… 5 minutes into the tour, one of my friends had a minor panic attack. I guess it was something to do with being on the open water. Mike graciously paddled her back to the dock and waited with her until she eventually calmed down and we returned to comfort her. Since we were unable to finish paddle boarding and were only on the water for a mere 10 minutes, Vancouver Water Adventures credited our whole excursion! I booked a second tour with 2 other friends and I am so happy I did. Laure and Mike were excellent tour guides and very informative about Granville Island. This is a must for anyone living in Vancouver or even visiting. It is exciting, educational and a killer workout!

I’m a returning customer for the 3^rd consecutive year. This year we rented 8 jet skis for the 12 of us and went on a guided tour. Along with ripping it through the waters it was an informative tour !
A great experience to learn about some vancouver history ! Their fleet of machine are some of the best ones In town !
If you like speed and are fearless make sure you to get ginger (jets ski) .
Shout outs to the awesome tour guides: Andrew and Dave ! Great work, keep it up !
A few of us might plan to come back again before summer end !

Tried out SUP Yoga at Kits beach and I’m hooked! Will be doing this again soon for sure. Bring a waterproof camera because the sunset paddle is gorgeous!

I booked a 2 hour sea doo rental through them with the intention of proposing to my girlfriend in horseshoe Bay. These guys were absolutely fantastic, knowledgeable, and professional. The plan went off without a hitch, and the machines were excellent, high performance, and well tuned (we’ve rented sea doos across the province). They’re a bit more per hour than some of the others we’ve rented from, but the fuel was included which WAS NOT the case in any other rental I’ve booked. The tanks can be $ 60-​$ 90 for a fill up, so that being included is a bonus.
We will most definitely be back this summer and in the years to come. Oh, she said yes!

We had purchased a 2.5hr tour ride living social voucher and booked on a Sunday. Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone else cancelled except for us, so they ended up phoning last minute the night before to inform me that it was cancelled. Cancellation fee was apparently $ 70. Instead, they offered me a rental for the same day so I took that instead.
Although insurance was available for the regular tour for $ 25, no insurance is available for a regular rental. Not ideal, but if you have a home insurance policy, the liability portion may cover you, minus your own deductible, if an accident should occur.
Suiting up and orientation pretty much took the entire 30 mins that they recommended, so get there early, especially if you’re driving, as finding parking is an exercise in frustration.
They recommended putting on a wetsuit because of the high speeds and windchill involved, but they smell pretty bad even though they wash it every day, so bring your own if you can.
We ended up taking the jet-​ski up along the north shore, around horseshoe bay, up around Anvil island’s seal colonies, back towards Bowen Island, down towards Spanish banks, and followed the shore back to the docks. The water is never calm out there, the winds creating waves which make it too choppy to go more than 60 – 70 kph unless you enjoy catching airtime and landing sideways. Harrison lake has much calmer waters where you can hit 90+kph easy if you’re after speed.
Jet skiing is very hard on the knees, with the pounding motion from the waves. Try to keep pressure off your feet when riding, otherwise the pounding motion from the waves might cause knee pain.
Parking is an issue too as there’s no dedicated spots, Granville island is log-​jammed on good weather, so make alternate travel arrangements. Allow an extra hour for pre and post jet skiing. The 3 hours Granville island offers for free parking may not be enough. We ended up paying the $ 15 for a full day of parking and staying at the island all day.
Staff were friendly as always, cheers to having well-​trained staff!

Used a Groupon ticket for 2 hours kayak around kits beach.
Friendly staff, simple explanation on safety and rowing techniques and off we went.
Great fun and will definitely come back for more.

Found Vancouver Water Adventures on Unilocal and decided to give them a try. We were in town for a half marathon in August and some of the group wanted to try paddle boarding for the first time. Clayton who made our reservations was very easy going and took the time to answer my many questions about paddle boarding and the weather. We were a little worried that it was going to be cold and knew that the water was a little colder than what we were used to but it wasn’t cold at all and my feet never got cold!
Our guide was Sean and he took us out for a hour trip around the bay/​harbour area highlighting sights as we went by. He provided excellent instruction at the beginning to the ones that had never done this before. Everyone did a great job and no one fell in the water!
I felt that their pricing was in line with what others charge at different paddle board locations, in fact they may have been on the lower side of that.
They also rent jet skis and other water items but all we did was the paddle board. If you are looking at enjoying some water activities I would give Vancouver Water Adventures a call because they will not disappoint you!

My new fave activity = paddleboarding!
This is a great location to try out paddleboarding. With a large area to explore with good views (false creek) I was able to make good use of my 2 hours. And this staff is friendly and helpful, and gave us some good tips.
We were shown the basics on how to sit and stand up on the board, and also shown how to paddle properly. I spent a good half hour on my knees just so I could get comfortable with the waves and the paddling. Finally i got my courage up to stand up, and it wasn’t so bad! I would advise to stay away from large boats passing by, as they create big waves which can knock you off balance but you’re given a life jacket.
I’m heading back at least two more times before the summer is over.
Here’s a video that I found useful:

My boyfriend and I went there two or three times in the summer of 2012. We rented paddle boards (SUP) every time we went, so I can’t comment on their other services. We liked the establishment; small, friendly, personal and casual. The equipments were all in good shape. We will be back again this year.
One thing that I was slightly disappointed with, was that we couldn’t reserve paddle boards. We had fallen in love with the sport through renting them at Vancouver Water Adventures, and I wanted to bring my friends here on my birthday, which was in August. But because I couldn’t reserve them, there was no guarantee I could get 10 boards for everyone on a summer Saturday afternoon. We ended up paddle boarding in Deep Cove instead, which was very serene compared to the the hectic False Creek.

Went here on a sunny fall day for stand up paddle boarding. The location is tucked away on Boatlift Lane, on the northwest side of Granville Island. They rent SUPs, water bikes and jet skis.
I found the staff to be relaxed yet friendly, helpful. It was my first time paddleboarding and they gave us a few tips on the dock, «keep your knees slightly bent» and «only nervous people fall in», lol. I saw a few people out there with swimsuits on, but I was glad I wore quick dry pants and a light rain jacket as the wind off the water was a little cool. There is no getting around the fact that your feet get cold… ours were numb by the time we arrived back, but that was after 2 hours on a fall day.
The price was reasonable at $ 30 for a 2 hour rental; that was enough time to get from Granville Island to Science World and back without working hard. The equipment was in decent, reasonable shape.
The store itself is small and generic. They have a small washroom available, a few small dressing rooms and about 18 unsecured cubby holes for your stuff. It would be really nice to see small lockers for valuables, but they are willing to put your wallet, etc. into their desk drawers if that makes you feel better.
30-​Days of Unilocal 2012 — ⁶⁄₃₁

I purchased a groupon for a water bicycle rental… because it sounded hilarious. Aaaaand guess what? It was.
Service at the counter was pleasant, the dude that fit the seats and pedals to our liking was helpful, and the bike didn’t sink.
We spent a pretty silly hour pedaling around false creek, dodging boats and cracking up.
My only real complaint was that my pal and I both received serious scratches on our legs from a part on the bike. But we didn’t die, and it ramped up our street cred.